What can help with constant pain in back, hips and legs?

Yikes Granny, you have been through a LOT!

Sure sounds like your sciatic nerve is getting pinched, which is a little strange considering your fusion surgery. By all means see your surgeon - I'm sure you'll need a new MRI.

Something is pressing on the sciatic nerve, I think - could be a bulging disc or an arthritic spur. I know that pain, had it on the back of both legs. Haven't had fusion surgery and am trying to avoid.

Glad you liked the quote! You are a very strong person to have to deal with shoulder and knee problems. I admire you.

And FWIW, I never liked gabapentin. I just didn't feel right, like my skin was always tingling.

My last replacement was an anatomical left TSR, August 2026. It took a lot of patience, but at about 10 months post-op I'm doing chest presses and incline pushups again. The pain is all gone, thankfully!

Take care of yourself Granny!

Joe

FWIW Heisenburg, I think it's fine to feel a little disconnected from reality now and then. Reality is the number one cause of my pain…….

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried weed under a Dr's care while living in CA. I hadn't smoked weed since the early 70s. I had no idea how concentrated the THC has become. So trying a small dose to start is wise - maybe it's always wise.

Joe

@heyjoe415 Thanks, Smokin' Joe. I am not interested in smoking dope. Gummies or edibles will likely be my choice. You are correct. sometimes being disconnected from reality may not be a bad thing. I am hoping to find a mix of THC and CBD that will give me a little pain relief without the altered reality. Hope you are doing well.

@heyjoe415 I know the core thing has a lot to do with it, I’ve lost so much muscle mass. I use to walk 5-6 miles a day , I tried to keep it goin through treatment and BMT but it gradually go less and less the more the pain set in. I’ve kept my weight down, but my gut now is my most out standing feature. I know I need to work on it and no maybe I can with gabapentin on board. You make me feel like a big o baby now, lol

The entire forum on Mayo Clinic Connect has become difficult for me to maneuver within. I have a hard time understanding who is saying what to who.
It seemed like your message, that was sent to me, was meant for someone else. You spoke about their "fusion," and also to me, when you spoke about my "liking your quote." I have never had a fusion.
Also, everyone uses a lot of abbreviations to medical terms. Hopefully everyone else understands the abbreviations used in these posts, I don't.
However, I believe you had a left Shoulder Replacement, and I do appreciate that comment because last surgery, it was mentioned that in the future, that may be in order. (Which scares me to death!)
Anyway, please know this response isn't entirely meant for you. And it may only be me that is having these issues with the forum.
Got to go take care of some chores. Have a great day!

@livininthestix

@tresemae I’ve been on it 13 yrs and it has never made me gain any wt. I’m 75 now and do have an aggravating side effect on Lyrica - swelling in my feet and hands. Some srs have sl swollen face too. This side effect only affects seniors the paper insert says.

@heisenberg34 a gummy of hemp thc and cbd helped me a lot through a painful year (pain gone with recent hip replacement). True my thinking was not as sharp but quality of life better. Used R&R and Gold Naturals.

@blueice Thanks. I have some lower dose THC gummies coming. Hope they help even if just a little bit.

You sound like my sister and I am so sorry you have this host of issues.

My sister is older than you are by five years and I am older by two; her solution (and mine) is doing her exercises and stretching religiously. And I do mean: every single DAY.

My sister tells me her pain level in her back, hips, etc, as well as numbness in her legs increases if she skips even one day without exercising. Same with me, I cannot just "sit" for more than an hour. I also do not sit Upright, I always recline whenever possible, to keep blood flow and lymph fluids flowing easily.

I would avoid steroid injections. Steroids are more a short term, seldom use solution and not really good for joint spaces on an ongoing basis; especially for as young as you are. This was on my ortho's and her ortho's advice (two different super good docs who are not "surgery happy").

My sister won't do steroids either, and ops for alternating Aleve, aspirin, and Tylenol. For example Day 1: Aleve day; Day 2 Tylenol day, Day 3 Aspirin day; Day 4 Tylenol Day; Day 5 Aleve day and repeat. This is also what I do for my back, hip, neck, and hand pain (I have degenerative disc disease of the neck as well as arthritis in my knees, hips, shoulders, and hands.

I took Celebrex for quite some time (five or six years) until I figured out it was dropping my GFR (kidney filtration rate) so I stopped Celebrex (my GFR thankfully returned to normal - I was lucky) and began the alternating NSAID - non-NSAID routine per my orthopedic doc advice. That routine works well. I also do exercise and when I skip it, I know I skipped it and not in a good way.

Slipped disc. Depending on the amount of slippage and what it is affecting, surgery may or may not be a solution. My neck and my sister's lumbar both have slippage of discs. We are both doing a wait and see. Both our doctors also advise this, though at some point we probably WILL need surgery to fix those discs, if the pain becomes unmanageable.

My neck discs are "shot" (bad enough to need replacing) in five discs (we only have six!). Neck surgery will require I have three surgeries and neck disc surgeries are very dangerous for obvious reasons. I am rather a surgery proponent (have had knee and shoulder done and went well) and would not be opposed to surgery, but the doc says, "Let's see if we can keep the pain manageable - with exercise and the pain relievers for as long as possible", "then let's talk surgery, when you are unable to control or stand the pain...any longer".

My sister is scared to death of back surgery and absolutely does not want surgery, so she exercises every single day. It keeps her on the pickleball court - even though she is in pain.

Our docs have both told us: "IF the pain is so bad you can't keep moving then we will do surgery".

Bottom line (sorry this is so long): if you cannot possibly move due to pain in any joint in your body, and you have been doing all you can to move, but the pain makes it impossible: have surgery.

Without moving the human body simply dies: use it or lose it.